cover image The Island World of Polynesia: A Survey of the Racial Family and Its Far-Flung Cultures

The Island World of Polynesia: A Survey of the Racial Family and Its Far-Flung Cultures

Edward Dodd. Windmill Hill Press, $0 (185pp) ISBN 978-0-9622505-0-7

In this fifth and final volume of the Ring of Fire series, Dodd traces Polynesian civilizations from their origins in the Chinese province of Fukien to their present locations. Some 6000 years ago groups migrated to the islands of Southeast Asia, springboard for far-flung movements. The first generation of migrants settled in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, 3000-2500 B.C.; the second generation sailed to the Marquesas, Societies and Tuamotu, 100 B.C. to A.D. 300. The final migration, 400-1100, took them to Easter Island, Hawaii and New Zealand. Dodd discusses the Polynesian system of navigation in detail; he makes a plausible case for two-way voyaging--one for exploration, the second for migration. He examines the diverging material cultures island by island, suggesting a parallel between Polynesian civilization and the Galapagos finches in their adaptation to environment. Readers interested in the archeology and anthropology of the South Pacific will find Dodd's interpretation stimulating and engaging. Photos. (Mar.)